


The Other Gallifrey

by magicsparkles



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms
Genre: Chickens, Crack, Cute, Fluff, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-07
Updated: 2016-09-07
Packaged: 2018-08-13 19:16:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7983115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicsparkles/pseuds/magicsparkles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor is trying to get back home to Gallifrey, only to land on another planet with the same name.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Other Gallifrey

**Author's Note:**

> The Doctor may be a future Doctor or he may be your favorite Doctor. Gallifrey may have been lost or saved. It could be pre- or post-Time War. There is no strict canon for this short.

He was going home to Gallifrey. At least, that was what he had hoped. The monitor on the TARDIS was on the fritz, so he couldn't exactly tell where he had landed. He smacked the screen a few times, but to no avail. If he didn't know any better, he could swear the TARDIS was doing it to him on purpose. The readings on the planet were normal. No toxic atmosphere, no brain imploding pressure levels, a solid surface to stand on. The TARDIS gave him that at least. No hostile aliens too maybe, but he would have to determine that for himself. 

He pushed the doors open wide and nearly gagged at the musty scent. His feet slipped a little on the hay strewn floor as he stepped out. He certainly was in a barn and he actually thought he was home for just a moment. The family barn used to be his favourite hiding spot when he was a child. But this was not his barn. It was smaller. Sure everything seemed bigger when you were a kid, but this was still not his barn on account of the chickens. He didn't recall there ever being chickens in his safe place before.

The chickens. They were circling him. He briefly considered pulling out his sonic screwdriver to ward them off, but decided that would be silly. They were only chickens. He hoped. They were making chicken noises at him, obviously trying to get his attention.

Luckily he spoke chicken, but seeing as this was a different planet than their native earth, he could only hope the language was universal among chicken kind. He had to give it a shot.

Crouching down in front of the red crusted hen which stood out from the rest, he spoke: “BOK BOK BOK?” _What planet is this?_

“Buck buck BOK.” _Gallifrey_. The hen answered, and The Doctor was pleased he could understand, yet he wasn't sure if he had heard that response correctly. 

“BOK!?” _What!?_ The Doctor said in complete surprise. That couldn't possibly be right. Or had the Time Lords all turned into chickens? _No, no, don't be ridiculous_. He thought about it some more, about the name Gallifrey. Of course, the “Galli” in Gallifrey did have a Latin root word meaning of “chicken” at least in earth terms, so perhaps these chickens came from earth originally. He guessed it was probably a coincidence that their planet was also called Gallifrey.

The rest of this conversation is translated from Chickenese for your convenience. 

The hen cocked her head at the confused Time Lord. “You are known as The Doctor, are you not?”

“I am.” The Doctor nodded. The hen gave him her name as well, which roughly translated to Ruby.

“You have our gratitude Doctor, and we wish to give you a gift.”

The Time Lord's eyes brightened in curiosity. “Oh really? And what might be that be?” He wondered what he had done for these chickens to deserve such a gift. 

“If you will follow me and the royal guard, we will lead you to our king to receive your gift.” The royal guard, The Doctor assumed, were the six other chickens clustering around Ruby. They were all white. 

“All right.” The Doctor agreed and Ruby waddled away out the open barn doors with the royal guard trailing behind in a straight line and The Doctor became the caboose of their train. 

This Gallifrey was indeed a paradise for chickens. Wide open spaces, grass and grain fields. There were also chicken coops all over, which The Doctor judged were their homes. His new chicken companions led him up and over hills a ways until the trail took them to the largest chicken coop he had ever seen. It was more of a castle really. It even had a drawbridge and a moat. Two chicken guards wearing armour let them pass through the entrance.

The Doctor was within the Great Hall, a long red carpet laid out before him, and he could see a big greenish rooster seated upon the throne. More chicken guards moved out of the way to let them pass and Ruby addressed the king.

“Your royal highness, King Kluck, we have brought you The Doctor,” she stated, bowing before the king. The royal guard followed suit and so did The Doctor.

The ancient alien bowed before the king in honour. “Your Highness, it is a pleasure to meet you.”

King Kluck jerked his head towards the Time Lord to get a better look at him. “Doctor.” He boomed in a regal sounding voice. As regal as a chicken could sound anyway. “You've come a long way Doctor. You've saved the universe so many times. And so in thanks, we wish to give you something in return.”

The Doctor flushed. He had always felt uncomfortable about being thanked and never asked for anything in return from anyone, but he appreciated their gratitude, even from a bunch of chickens. He respectfully watched as the king picked something up with his beak from behind the throne. It wasn't as easy as it looked.

The king presented The Doctor with an egg and not just any ordinary egg, but a golden egg. The Doctor carefully took the gift from His Royal Highness's beak. On closer inspection, he determined it was authentic real gold. 

Bowing again, The Doctor said, “Thank you kindly Your Highness.”

“You are most welcome, and now will The Doctor also kneel so I may perform a knighting ceremony?”

The Doctor had to hide a sigh. So much fanfare. But he indulged the king and didn't dare want to offend him in any way. He bent down on one knee.

“I dub thee Sir Doctor of Gallifrey.” Which Gallifrey? Of their planet or of his own? He wasn't certain if the chickens even knew the name of his home planet. But he was being honoured here, so it had to be of the chickens' home planet. Maybe he should just call it Gallifrey II. The Doctor. The Chicken Knight. Another one of his many titles. Now there was a story he could tell back home, if he could ever get back home.

“Thank you again. And I will keep the egg in a safe place. I promise. Now, I really must be going. I must say it has been lovely visiting your planet, and I would be happy to come visit you again someday.”

It was King Kluck's turn to bow this time. “It would be an honour. We are forever in your debt. Goodbye Doctor and safe travels to you.”

And with that The Doctor returned to his TARDIS, sending it into the time vortex trying to find his home once more, but not forgetting the chicken planet, Gallifrey II. He could never have expected among all the species in the universe, even simple chickens, could feel such gratitude towards him. He had to smile at that.


End file.
